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January 17, 2008
Closing Bell: A Skate Park For Gowanus
As we learned at a recent community board meeting, a local group is still pushing to transform the under-used public park on 3rd Avenue and Douglass Street into a skateboarding paradise complete with new bathrooms and equipment. Totally tubular! GMAP
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Comments
I hope the Parks Dept turns em down - I can't even imagine the liability costs for such a thing - especially when you have Corporation-"how large a check you want"-Counsel representing the City.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:15 PM
That's better than the hookers and junkies who normally make the place home.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:20 PM
dude!
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:23 PM
I'm stoked.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:30 PM
Its time Mr Brownstoner gets out of his blog bubble.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:36 PM
Skate park in Squibb Playground!
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:38 PM
somebody should get "homage" involved, that skate shop on smith. that would be perfect.
Posted by: chuck at January 17, 2008 4:46 PM
4:15, the city already manages seven skate parks:
www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/af_skate_park.html
Posted by: g man at January 17, 2008 4:54 PM
Rad!
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:56 PM
It'll be great entertainment. You'll be able to watch all the aged hipsters break their backs when they try to do a simple ollie or a 360 flip. I see it all the time.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:58 PM
Awesome. I hope it happens. That would make two in the nabe, assuming the one planned for JJ Byrne park actually happens. To the lawyer who posted at 4:15: you know why people become skaters? So they don't become like you!
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 4:59 PM
I got 2 words for ya:
Insurance policy.
Actually 5 words...
Multi million dollar insurance policy.
Also, ever- hear- what a skatepark sounds like?
Here come the NIMBYs.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 5:00 PM
I'm all for it if it draws the skateboarders away from other spots around the borough--like from in front of the Brooklyn Museum for instance. Couldn't someone have looked at the plans for the Museum redo and said "maybe you want to tone the step and railing action down a bit because this will make one really gnarly skate park.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 5:02 PM
Dont think you will hear from too many NIMBY's on this one - Have you ever been near that park? The nioses coming out of the projects next door at all hours will easily drown out any skateboarders.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 5:11 PM
Anyone over the age of 25 that has a skateboard is a LOSER.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 5:24 PM
or a millionare
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 5:29 PM
"The nioses coming out of the projects next door at all hours will easily drown out any skateboarders."
Actually the project (Wyckoff Houses and Gowanus Houses) are betwen two and four blocks away, not "next door," but I get your drift.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 5:32 PM
5:24 - That's like saying skiers over 25 are losers. It's a sport like anything else.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 5:54 PM
"Anyone over the age of 25 that has a skateboard is a LOSER."
Wrong. Anyone over the age of 18 that has a skateboard is a LOSER.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 6:29 PM
So Tony Hawk is a loser???????
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 6:40 PM
Hey, Chuck. The Homage folks are already involved. Great minds think alike!
Hey, you two-bit cynics predicting NIMBY anti-anti forces, the group proposing the new design for the park (the skateboard stuff is only part of it) is composed of well-respected neighborhood leaders, including Sue Wolfe, President of the Boerum Hill Association, and Jo Anne Simon, future candidate for City Council. The group is eager for more volunteers, so if you are interested in helping design and fundraise for this park, contact Sue.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 7:30 PM
Skateboarding is a way of life man, not a sport. I am buying a house in a skateboarding retirement community in florida, Tony Hawk is the first investor. Yea BABY!!! I am getting in on the ground floor, wait until all these 50 year old losers with skateboards retire I am going to be rich. RICH!!!!!
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 9:11 PM
"So Tony Hawk is a loser???????"
Worse than a loser, he is the god of losers.
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 10:27 PM
so when did this become the official blog of corny yuppies?
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 11:06 PM
"so when did this become the official blog of corny yuppies?"
When it launched?
Posted by: guest at January 17, 2008 11:43 PM
what is a nimby?
Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 12:21 AM
Not In My Backyard
Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 8:10 AM
So let me get this right.
Most of the park next to Byrne Park behine the NOVO (4th Street between 5th and 4th Avenues) is becoming a Boymelgreen-built "skate park" and now another park 9 blocks away is become one as well?!?!
What's going on with these "skate park" conversions? Is it cheaper to maintain so the Parks Dept. is doing this?
Why not pave over the Great Lawn in Prospect Park … there are hills there … would make a great "skate park."
Posted by: Mr Joist at January 18, 2008 12:48 PM
Why is everyone so mad about a skatepark? Why is this much worse than a basketball court or handball court? For years, that's all the city would build.
Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 2:11 PM
The city should turn all the rich assholes' brownstones into skateparks.
Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 2:57 PM
I miss the hookers. They loved that pard. At least they gave the hood some diversity... now the only diversity is that some of the white folk are foreign.
Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 4:17 PM
skating and blow jobs. its too bad we have to choose.
Posted by: guest at January 18, 2008 11:49 PM
I work in the building across the street from that park on Douglass. The only people I see in there now seem homeless, sleeping on the few benches, ex-cons doing pull ups and push ups shirtless on the playground, or immigrant playing soccer in the the rear.
It would be great to gentrify the park. It has a nice amount of square footage, and houses a public pool.
Tho I'm sure that if this does happen the building I'm working in will be bought and I'll be outta that area =(
Posted by: guest at January 21, 2008 3:37 PM
There have been a few comments on about the skate-park concerning insurance and liability that I want to direct this towards as well as debunking the notion of skateboarding being for "losers" (pretty funny to think that huh?)...
Skateboarders are going to skate where ever they can. If there's a nice curb or transition to skate... They'll go out of their way to find it. This is most likely going to either be on a city owned piece of architecture or it'll be privately owned. Both of which currently are huge liability concerns for the city and residents for a number of reasons. IF you put a designated area for skaters to use than the liability goes way down. Think about it. You have a waver for skaters to sign, you have signs up all over the place and you greatly diminish the liability. Not to mention saving the architecture that would otherwise be damaged and need to be repaired. I could go on an on....
For the uniformed: Skateboarding is actually a very highly regarded sport. It's a multi billion dollar industry. It's everywhere and for everyone. It's about time NYC woke up to the benefits of having well built skateparks.
Look at California for example. Great skate-parks everywhere. Don't be judgmental and uninformed a skate-park is the best thing that can happen to this park in particular. Think about it, it'll put you Tennis players one step closer to getting some courts out there ;)
Posted by: guest at May 20, 2008 7:41 PM
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